Written by ForexBrokers.com
In this head to head comparison of CMC Markets vs City Index, we will compare the trading platforms, mobile apps, range of investments, costs, market research, and more. Let's dive in.
CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. Between 51% and 89% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
When comparing online brokers CMC Markets and City Index, both companies exhibit a strong reputation in the world of trading. Founded in 1989, CMC Markets is a veteran next to City Index, which was established in 1983. Both brokers enjoy a high level of trust, each achieving a perfect Trust Score of 99 from ForexBrokers.com. This score reflects their reputations for reliability and security. Importantly, both are publicly traded entities, adding to their transparency and credibility, and neither operates as a bank.
In terms of regulatory backing, CMC Markets and City Index both hold several licenses that establish their credibility. CMC Markets is supported by 6 Tier-1 licenses, which are considered highly trusted, along with 1 Tier-2 license classified as trusted. Meanwhile, City Index holds the edge with 7 Tier-1 licenses, also paired with a single Tier-2 license. These licenses further cement their positions as secure options for online trading. Whether traders choose CMC Markets or City Index, they can be assured of a stable and trusted trading environment.
| Feature |
CMC Markets
|
City Index
|
|---|---|---|
| Year Founded | 1989 | 1983 |
| Publicly Traded (Listed) | Yes | Yes |
| Bank | No | No |
| Tier-1 Licenses | 6 | 7 |
| Tier-2 Licenses | 1 | 1 |
| Tier-3 Licenses | 0 | 0 |
| Tier-4 Licenses | 0 | 1 |
When comparing commissions and fees, CMC Markets generally comes out cheaper than City Index. CMC Markets earns 5 stars and ranks #4 out of 63 brokers for Commissions and Fees, while City Index earns 4.5 stars and ranks #16 out of 63. Both offer competitive pricing, but CMC Markets tends to deliver lower all-in costs for popular forex pairs.
CMC Markets posts typical EUR/USD spreads of 0.61 pips (Aug 2023) and offers an FX Active commission plan at $2.50 per side with minimum spreads of 0.0, giving an all-in cost of about 0.5 pips on EUR/USD (and several other pairs). Its standard NZD/USD spread of 1.5 pips drops to around 0.5 pips with FX Active after commissions. For frequent traders, the Price Plus Scheme unlocks spread discounts based on monthly Trading Points (e.g., 2 points per 100,000-unit lot, with a 20% spread discount at Tier 4 after 1,250 lots). CMC’s average spreads have historically stayed close to its advertised minimums, which helps keep costs predictable.
City Index’s pricing is generally in line with the industry average. The EUR/USD average spread is about 0.74 pips (July 2023), and you’ll typically get the best rates on its proprietary platforms or MetaTrader. High-volume traders can apply for the Premium Trader account (deposit over £10,000) for exclusive pricing and support, and professional traders may qualify for rebates that start at £4 per million in the U.K. (at £25M+ monthly volume, up to £7.5 per million above £300M) and AUD $4.5 to $14.5 per million in Australia. Overall, City Index is competitively priced, but CMC Markets often offers lower spreads and better all-in costs, especially for active FX traders.
| Feature |
CMC Markets
|
City Index
|
|---|---|---|
| Minimum Deposit | $0 | £100.00 |
| Average spread (EUR/USD) - Standard account | 1.3 | 1.4 |
| All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active | 0.65 | 0.9 |
| Non-wire bank transfer | Yes | Yes |
| PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | Yes |
| Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw) | No | No |
| Bank Wire (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best Low Spread Forex Brokers.
CMC Markets vs City Index: both brokers support forex trading as CFDs or spot contracts and both earn 5 stars for Range of Investments. City Index lists more total tradeable symbols (13,500 vs. CMC Markets’ 12,029), while CMC Markets offers more forex pairs (141 vs. City Index’s 66). In ForexBrokers.com’s 63-broker comparison for Range of Investments, City Index ranks #8 and CMC Markets ranks #9.
When it comes to what you can buy, CMC Markets allows trading in exchange-traded securities on U.S. and international exchanges, so you can purchase shares like Apple or Vodafone directly (not as CFDs). City Index does not offer direct share dealing on those exchanges. Both brokers support copy trading. For crypto, neither offers actual coins, but both provide cryptocurrency CFDs.
| Feature |
CMC Markets
|
City Index
|
|---|---|---|
| Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) | Yes | Yes |
| Tradeable Symbols (Total) | 12029 | 13500 |
| Forex Pairs (Total) | 141 | 66 |
| U.S. Stocks (Shares) | Yes | No |
| Global Stocks (Non-U.S. Shares) | Yes | No |
| Copy Trading | Yes | Yes |
| Cryptocurrency (Underlying) | No | No |
| Cryptocurrency (CFDs) | Yes | Yes |
| Disclaimers | Note: Crypto CFDs are not available to retail traders from any broker's U.K. entity, nor to U.K. residents (except to Professional clients). | Note: Crypto CFDs are not available to retail traders from any broker's U.K. entity, nor to U.K. residents (except to Professional clients). |
Dive deeper: Best Copy Trading Platforms.
Comparing CMC Markets vs City Index for trading platforms and tools, both brokers check the key boxes. Each offers a free demo account for paper trading, a proprietary platform, and both web-based and Windows desktop platforms. You can connect via MetaTrader 4 (MT4), use copy trading, and place orders directly from charts on either broker.
The clearest platform difference is MetaTrader 5 (MT5): CMC Markets supports MT5, while City Index does not. Independent ratings reflect a slight edge for CMC Markets, which earns 5 stars and ranks #6 out of 63 brokers for Trading Platforms and Tools on ForexBrokers.com, compared with City Index at 4.5 stars and #11. If MT5 access matters to you, CMC Markets is the better fit; otherwise, both deliver strong, user-friendly platform options.
| Feature |
CMC Markets
|
City Index
|
|---|---|---|
| Virtual Trading (Demo) | Yes | Yes |
| Proprietary Desktop Trading Platform | Yes | Yes |
| Desktop Platform (Windows) | Yes | Yes |
| Web Platform | Yes | Yes |
| Copy Trading | Yes | Yes |
| MetaTrader 4 (MT4) | Yes | Yes |
| MetaTrader 5 (MT5) | Yes | No |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total) | 73 | 88 |
| Charting - Trade From Chart | Yes | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best MetaTrader 4 Brokers, Best MetaTrader 5 Brokers.
CMC Markets vs City Index: both brokers offer polished mobile trading apps for iPhone and Android. You can set stock and forex price alerts, sync watchlists between mobile and the web, draw trendlines on charts, and your chart drawings auto-save. That means your key trading tasks—monitoring markets, managing lists, and marking up charts—work the same wherever you sign in.
For charting depth, City Index includes more built-in technical indicators (88 vs 29), which may appeal if you rely heavily on studies. CMC Markets, however, earns a higher overall Mobile Trading Apps rating (5.0 vs 4.5 stars) and a stronger placement in ForexBrokers.com’s rankings (#5 vs #9 out of 63). If you want the widest set of indicators on the go, City Index stands out; if you prefer a higher-rated app experience, CMC Markets is the pick.
| Feature |
CMC Markets
|
City Index
|
|---|---|---|
| Android App | Yes | Yes |
| Apple iOS App | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Price Alerts | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Watchlists - Syncing | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Charting - Indicators / Studies | 29 | 88 |
| Mobile Charting - Draw Trendlines | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Charting - Trendlines Autosave | Yes | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best Forex Trading Apps.
When comparing CMC Markets and City Index, both brokers provide daily market commentary and offer forex news from top-tier sources like Bloomberg and Reuters, ensuring traders are kept up-to-date with critical market insights. CMC Markets edges out with a five-star research rating by including tools from Autochartist, which City Index lacks. In contrast, City Index incorporates Trading Central tools, allowing for diverse technical analytics and research options. Both brokers offer sentiment-based trading tools and maintain economic calendars to highlight essential global news events, facilitating informed trading decisions.
Despite these common features, CMC Markets holds a slight lead, ranking sixth out of sixty-three brokers for its research capabilities, compared to City Index, which ranks tenth. This higher rating is indicative of CMC Markets' ability to offer a more comprehensive suite of research tools and data, making it a preferred choice for traders who value extensive market research support. While neither broker utilizes resources from TipRanks or Acuity Trading, CMC Markets' inclusion of Autochartist tools gives it a competitive advantage in technical analysis offerings.
| Feature |
CMC Markets
|
City Index
|
|---|---|---|
| Daily Market Commentary (Articles) | Yes | Yes |
| Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) | Yes | Yes |
| Autochartist | Yes | No |
| Trading Central | No | Yes |
| Client sentiment data | Yes | Yes |
| TipRanks | No | No |
| Acuity Trading | No | No |
| Economic Calendar | Yes | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best Brokers for Forex Research.
CMC Markets and City Index both deliver plenty of beginner-friendly education for forex and CFDs, meeting the benchmark of at least 10 focused pieces. Each broker offers 10+ beginner videos and 10+ advanced videos, making it easy to learn at your own pace. In expert reviews, CMC Markets earns a 5-star Education rating and is ranked #10 out of 63 brokers, while City Index holds a strong 4.5-star rating and ranks slightly higher at #9.
The biggest difference is live learning: City Index runs monthly educational webinars, while CMC Markets does not offer monthly sessions. If you want regular live classes and Q&A, City Index is a great pick. If you prefer on-demand videos and a top-rated library, CMC Markets stands out. Either way, beginners will find a deep set of lessons to start trading with more confidence.
| Feature |
CMC Markets
|
City Index
|
|---|---|---|
| Webinars | No | Yes |
| Videos - Beginner Trading Videos | Yes | Yes |
| Videos - Advanced Trading Videos | Yes | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best Forex Brokers for Beginners.
After testing 63 of the best forex brokers, our research and account testing finds that CMC Markets is better than City Index. CMC Markets finished with an overall rank of #5, while City Index finished with an overall rank of #8.
CMC Markets is well-trusted across the globe, and delivers a terrific trading experience thanks to its excellent pricing and selection of over 12,000 tradeable instruments.
| Feature |
CMC Markets
|
City Index
|
|---|---|---|
| Overall Rating |
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| Trust Score | 99 | 99 |
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CMC Markets vs City Index: neither broker offers buying actual (delivered) cryptocurrency, but both support trading cryptocurrency via CFDs.
CMC Markets vs City Index: both online brokers support ACH/SEPA transfers, PayPal, and bank wire deposits/withdrawals, neither supports Skrill, and Visa/Mastercard availability is not specified for either.
Please note:
We review each broker’s overall global offering – a “Yes” checkmark in our Compare Tool does not guarantee the availability of any specific features in your country of residence. To verify the availability of any features within your country of residence, please contact the broker directly.
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0 of 5| Overall Rating | CMC Markets | City Index | |
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| Trust Score | 99 | 99 | |
| Winner | check_circle | ||
| Review | CMC Markets Review | City Index Review |
| Broker Screenshots | CMC Markets | City Index | |
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| Regulation | CMC Markets | City Index | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trust Score | 99 | 99 | |
| Year Founded | 1989 | 1983 | |
| Publicly Traded (Listed) | Yes | Yes | |
| Bank | No | No | |
| Regulated in one or more EU or EEA countries (MiFID). | Yes | Yes | |
| Tier-1 Licenses | 6 | 7 | |
| Tier-2 Licenses | 1 | 1 | |
| Tier-3 Licenses | 0 | 0 | |
| Tier-4 Licenses | 0 | 1 |
| Tier-1 Licenses (Highly Trusted) | CMC Markets | City Index | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australia (ASIC Authorised) | Yes | Yes | |
| Canada (CIRO Authorised) | Yes | Yes | |
| Hong Kong (SFC Authorised) | No | No | |
| Japan (FSA Authorised) | No | No | |
| Singapore (MAS Authorised) | Yes | Yes | |
| Switzerland (FINMA Authorised) | |||
| United Kingdom (U.K.) (FCA Authorised) | Yes | Yes | |
| USA (CFTC Authorized) | No | No | |
| New Zealand (FMA Authorised) | Yes | No | |
| Regulated in one or more EU or EEA countries (MiFID). | Yes | Yes |
| Tier-2 Licenses (Trusted) | CMC Markets | City Index | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kenya (CMA Authorised) | |||
| Israel (ISA Authorised) | No | No | |
| South Africa (FSCA Authorised) | No | No | |
| UAE (DFSA, FSRA, or SCA Authorised) | Yes | Yes | |
| India (SEBI Authorised) | No | No | |
| Jordan (JSC Authorised) |
| Investments | CMC Markets | City Index | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) | Yes | Yes | |
| Tradeable Symbols (Total) | 12029 | 13500 | |
| Forex Pairs (Total) | 141 | 66 | |
| U.S. Stocks (Shares) | Yes | No | |
| Global Stocks (Non-U.S. Shares) | Yes | No | |
| Copy Trading | Yes | Yes | |
| Cryptocurrency (Underlying) | No | No | |
| Cryptocurrency (CFDs) | Yes | Yes | |
| Disclaimers | Note: Crypto CFDs are not available to retail traders from any broker's U.K. entity, nor to U.K. residents (except to Professional clients). | Note: Crypto CFDs are not available to retail traders from any broker's U.K. entity, nor to U.K. residents (except to Professional clients). |
| Cost | CMC Markets | City Index | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average spread (EUR/USD) - Standard account | 1.3 | 1.4 | |
| All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active | 0.65 | 0.9 | |
| Inactivity Fee | Yes | Yes | |
| Order execution: Agency | No | No | |
| Order execution: Market Maker | Yes | Yes |
| Funding | CMC Markets | City Index | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum Deposit | $0 | £100.00 | |
| PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | Yes | |
| Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw) | No | No | |
| Bank Wire (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | Yes | |
| Non-wire bank transfer | Yes | Yes |
| Trading Platforms | CMC Markets | City Index | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Proprietary Desktop Trading Platform | Yes | Yes | |
| Desktop Platform (Windows) | Yes | Yes | |
| Web Platform | Yes | Yes | |
| Copy Trading | Yes | Yes | |
| MetaTrader 4 (MT4) | Yes | Yes | |
| MetaTrader 5 (MT5) | Yes | No | |
| cTrader | No | No |
| Trading Tools | CMC Markets | City Index | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Virtual Trading (Demo) | Yes | Yes | |
| Price Alerts | Yes | Yes | |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total) | 73 | 88 | |
| Charting - Trade From Chart | Yes | Yes | |
| Charts can be saved | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Trading | CMC Markets | City Index | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Android App | Yes | Yes | |
| Apple iOS App | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Price Alerts | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Watchlist [DELETED] | |||
| Mobile Watchlists - Syncing | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Charting - Indicators / Studies | 29 | 88 | |
| Mobile Charting - Draw Trendlines | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Charting - Trendlines Autosave | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Research - Economic Calendar | Yes | Yes |
| Research | CMC Markets | City Index | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daily Market Commentary (Articles) | Yes | Yes | |
| Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) | Yes | Yes | |
| Autochartist | Yes | No | |
| Trading Central | No | Yes | |
| TipRanks | No | No | |
| Client sentiment data | Yes | Yes | |
| Economic Calendar | Yes | Yes |
| Education | CMC Markets | City Index | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Webinars | No | Yes | |
| Videos - Beginner Trading Videos | Yes | Yes | |
| Videos - Advanced Trading Videos | Yes | Yes |
| Major Forex Pairs | CMC Markets | City Index | |
|---|---|---|---|
| GBP/USD [DELETED] | |||
| USD/JPY [DELETED] | |||
| EUR/USD | Yes | Yes | |
| USD/CHF [DELETED] | |||
| USD/CAD [DELETED] | |||
| NZD/USD [DELETED] | |||
| AUD/USD [DELETED] | |||
| Review | CMC Markets Review | City Index Review |
| Overall | CMC Markets | City Index | |
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| Trust Score | 99 | 99 | |
| Winner | check_circle | ||
| Review | CMC Markets Review | City Index Review |
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